With all the hoopla around Sarah Palin, let's remember to keep our eyes on the prize.

One thing about the Obama Campaign, if you have been following, is upon conception this campaign has committed resources to state building. Barack has followed the lead started by Howard Dean of 2004. Building up our states to bring more competitive races with strong candidates, a presence of the Democratic Party, and the ability to perform massive GOVT (Get out the vote).

As Barack built ground operations all across this country, you saw activity awaken. Many people who had given up on grass roots activities in states like North Carolina, Georgia, Montana, etc. started to get involved again. With the candidacy of Barack, many new voters stepped up and came forward. You saw the results of this hard work by Barack's initial win in Iowa. Many did not believe he would win, but it was the ground operation, which was stellar and I was there in Cedar Rapids, which brought that victory.

Through all these months, wow it seems like years, the main focus was voter registration drives. From the grassroots operations across this country, the Obama Campaign made voter registration their number one focus along with building state operations. Now we are seeing massive numbers.

Five days a week, Linda Graham trolls tattered neighborhoods of this once thriving steel city outside Pittsburgh for unregistered voters she can sign up as Democrats — one of thousands of unknown volunteers whose work outside the limelight has already altered the basic arithmetic of the November election.

The epic nomination battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton helped put millions more Democrats on the voter rolls while Republican registration declined. Now Graham, 45, has taken three months of unpaid leave from her job at Pittsburgh's Central Blood Bank in the hope of adding to those gains before the presidential vote.

She's encouraged by the response here. "They're all feeling the crunch" of lost jobs and a sagging economy, Graham said. "But people are feeling empowered. They're feeling like, you know what, I hold a little bit of power in this."

To counter this effort, the Republicans are counting on a formidable, high-tech get-out-the-vote operation that has helped them win the past two presidential elections.

Since the last federal election in 2006, volunteers like Graham combined with the enthusiasm generated by the Obama-Clinton struggle to add more than 2 million Democrats to voter rolls in the 28 states that register voters according to party affiliation. The Republicans have lost nearly 344,000 thousand voters in the same states.

The Democrats hope their voter registration efforts can boost Obama to victory in competitive states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Florida and perhaps even give him a shot at winning traditional Republican states like Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. continue

This is why the Sarah Palin pick was necessary for McCain. She was picked for primarily what she has caused pandemonium among the conservative base of the Republican Party. John McCain had no ground operation in place, period. During his time as the 'presump' he did not open offices, did not put money into any ground operations and did not commit to voter registration drives. Instead McCain picked Palin to bring the George W. Bush section of the party in play to perform the necessary GOTV that is needed for November.

The problem is this; it just may be too late. I don't doubt, nor will ignore the operation of GOTV that won Bush his second term in 2004, it was massive, but this is 2008 and the chips are different. The conservative base doesn’t like, nor trust McCain, but with this pick it is for Palin. The Republicans have catch up to do, this includes working each state's voter registration rolls, purging folks, and performing voter registration drives, getting enough volunteers, phone contact, canvassing, etc. They are behind in all of this and McCain Campaign is just starting to open offices across the country, while Obama's operations have been up and going for months.

Sarah Palin will perform 30 fundraisers in 60 days. Money is needed for GOTV and ads for targeted states. Joe Scarborough of morning joe on MSNBC has been consistent about speaking to state party chairs on the Republican side, their sentiment is that they appreciate the attack ads that McCain has up on the air, but are terrified at the ground game of the Obama Campaign and are worried about the new voters being registered at break neck speed.

Finally, the GOP should be worried. These new voters may not be enough for Barack in some states to win, but they are enough for local, state and persons running for congress, too. This could mean a landslide in November for more seats in congress and state level. This is equally important, as Barack winning the presidency.

Obama again said that the GOP convention didn’t discuss solutions to problems facing ordinary Americans, unlike the Democratic gathering.

“The Republicans had a different approach to their convention,” he said. “They had a different theory, which was that ‘We are just sarcastic. We spent a lot of time talking about John McCain’s admittedly compelling biography, and we spent a lot of time lying about Barack’ -- that, somehow that’s a political philosophy or an economic theory.”

Obama told the appreciative crowd, “They don’t have a record to run on, so what they’re going to do is they’re going to try and just tear me down. Because it worked four years ago, and it worked eight years ago, you can’t blame them for trying it again, but I don’t think it’s going to work this time.” continue

Last night I attempted to watch McCain's speech. I have a little chat room, with friends and we all were talking to each other, some of us, as I, switched channels on McCain. He was that boring. I ended up watching my girl, Tabitha on the Bravo Channel snapping on a hair salon owner, yes reality teevee. During all of this, I peeped into my chat room with my friends, the ones who stuck it out with McCain and got the scoop. At the end of his speech, I listened to the cable desk clerks chatter, but it was the former Bush writer who said it all for me. I wrote before and after Palin that she was not going to move any independents and very few moderates, I was right. McCain had to speak to the middle; well he did a poor job of it. In fact, there was very little policy which made me and millions others like me, switch from him. He kept with the same, old, stale republican line about taxes, schools, and drilling. He offered nothing fresh, no vision and just looked like an old man in front of a green screen.

In the end, if Palin did anything for a bounce and that would be the base, McCain dumped water on the fire with that speech last night. And any bounce would be for Palin, not McCain.

Speaker after speaker at this week's Republican National Convention defended small towns from the perceived slights of urban elites. They talked of working people, and ridiculed those with the time to become "community organizers." They railed against the media, Hollywood and the Washington cocktail circuit.

Cultural affinities, which President Bush played on heavily to paint 2004 Democratic nominee John F. Kerry as elite and out of touch, are now central to the campaign strategy of GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Click on the link in the title to read the whole piece, the GOP are running Bush 2004, again, but the difference is that time is not on their side. They don't have a ground game, that is why Palin was pick to energize them to work for the campaign. We are in place, have been registering voters at a great speed since last year. They have much ground to make up in less than 8 weeks and voter registration in many states will be closed for the general election by end the of September.

::

McCain, Obama campaigns grapple for 'change'

Invigorated by back-to-back political conventions, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama grappled for the mantle of change Friday as the fall race for the presidency took off in states teeming with the independent voters they needed to win.

Within hours of accepting the Republican nomination, McCain sent an e-mail appeal for donations arguing that he and running mate Sarah Palin stood for reform in Washington. He also denounced "Democratic operatives" whom he said "have stooped lower than anyone could have imagined." continue

::

Todd Palin's former business partner files emergency notion to seal his divorce papers

Oh, brother. It appears there is some "there, there" per National Enquirer. This is about the alleged affair of Palin with her husband's former business partner.

Reminds me when Obama ran for the senate in 2004. The GOP winner was Jack Ryan, but he has skeletons in his closet. The Chicago Tribune went after his sealed divorce records, in California and the judge released redacted portions.

There was enough there to fully see that Ryan's ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan, divorced him because he was a sex freak.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Well, McCain since you are touting this, can you start with the GOP? Your campaign looked like a bunch of old, white guys. You have very few women and no flavor in the mix. Instead, your campaign was a throwback to Eisenhower, Nixon. Is that change? If it is, Dole '96, for you.

Change.

You must have done some polling, tossed the experience meme and attempting to grab onto the "change" meme, with Palin in tow. Problem is, McCain, you are a reminder of why this country is f*cked up right now. That means no change for you.

Change.

Does that mean you will go into the caves and get bin Laden? Since, you keep saying that "you will go to the gates of hell", to retrieve bin Laden. Oh btw, just ask Musharraf he knows the cave number.

Change.

Does that mean you really understand the crisis of the mortgage industry and that the Federal Reserve have no confidence in this economy? Can you or Palin even spell e-c-o-n-o-m-y? Better yet, while people are being tossed out of their homes, losing their American Dream can you tell Cindy to tone it down some? That bling and outfit costing 300K can equate to a lost home or several. At least fake that you care!!

Change.

Does that mean you will follow the advice of the Iraqis and get the HELL OUT OF DODGE, in Iraq? Or will you stay the course, keep greasing the palms, attempt to take the oil and just remain in Iraq? Do you listen, McCain or do you just do what you want to do? Ummmm.

Change.

When is Sarah Palin doing press so the American public knows her view point? We keep reading scandal, her positions, and her beliefs every day. When is she going on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, This Week and even over to Wolfy's show? Or is it that she is too busy from here on out in VP School? We know she must attend, since she knows jack outside of Alaska and have traveled very little. Make sure she knows who is placed where and who is doing what in foreign policy. Especially, since she believes we can drill ourselves out of our energy crisis. sigh.

Change.

Are you going to change your position for equal pay for women? Since, Palin is your sidekick and keeps referencing Hillary Clinton, does she know what Hillary Clinton stand for? Obviously, she needs additional "political 101" lessons, make sure she gets that, ok?

Change.

It is a word, but means a total break from the failed policies of Bush/Cheney. Since you voted 90% of the time, you think that is change? I believe more of the same.

Lastly, McCain you gave one of the most boring speeches in modern convention history. You reminded me of Bob Dole, 1996, old, boring, no sensation, no excitement, no nothing and look where he is. Nuff said. Change is not a 72 year old man, with a gimmick sidekick for youth who offers the public nothing.

Change is Barack Obama.

We look forward to you joining the Bob Dole Club of 1996, after November 4, 2008.

I have read around that some are worried and performing the necessary "hand wringing" because Obama may not sound "strong enough" in the campaign's response for them.

Let me state it again.

Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for the President of the United States of America. Sarah Palin is the Republican Nominee for the Vice President of the United States of America. Why in the world would he respond to her? John McCain is their candidate, not Palin.

Of course, you are witnessing bullsh*t on the teevee by the media who is desperately trying to equate the two, but that smell not only does not add up but the stench is unbearable.

Barack Obama does not need to respond to the likes of no-nothing, "James Dobson in a Pantsuit" by the name of Sarah Palin. That is what the McCain Camp want. "Go after Sarah, belittle her, etc." Let the Obama Campaign handle that, like they did today.

Remember, the game of election is like this, "you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to show 'em."

Just wait.

From Barack, himself:

::

My goodness, "Cindy McCain=My House"

Yes, one outfit of Cindy McCain's on Tuesday night equal $300,000.

OMG, no sh*t!! Yes, $300,000.

Just imagine all the folks thrown out, evicted, worried of losing their American Dream which equates a "house", and see Cindy McCain trotting around the Republican stage in $280,000 diamond earrings, as if that is the norm.

For Palin to be credible and at this juncture she is a "gimmick", sorry she is. Palin needs to do press. Meet the Press, Face the Nation, This Week with Georgy and skip over to CNN with Wolfy.

We already know that she will be on Fox with the softball questions, but that is not enough. Right now the Republicans are hiding her and giving her NO ACCESS to anything.

Is this transparency? Is this what we want? Or is this a candidate that don't know anything? The latter is what I believe.

As I stated before, she will be going to Alaska after this weekend to prepare herself on what the world is really like. Since she has traveled very little, just to Kuwait and hardly has been to the lower 48, then she need a lot of schooling. So, Sarah is in VP training. Learning about foreign affairs, who is the Fed Chief, leaders of various countries, how you spell e-c-o-n-o-m-i-c-s, etc. You know, the basic "VP Stuff". So, John McCain will be on his lonesome, trying his dangest to convince the independent voters out here that "he is their guy". But from various focus groups last night, they are not "feelin'" McCain.

In the end. Palin, with the pit bull lipstick, will have to do media. And media, by herself. Why? Because Joe Biden is on Meet the Press, on Sunday.

With the country in shambles, the american public does need to know what you are going to do mccain/palin and it starts with the press.

He won't be vitriolic as Palin, that is why she is on the ticket be be divisive. He will come to the middle and try to address the independent voters. Last night was a turn off for them, he will be stately and presidential. In the end, he needs a lot of help, she is not the total solution. He has other issues, but I will write about that later.

One of the persistent memes in the Republican line of attack against Barack Obama is the notion that he is an elitist, whereas the G.O.P. represent real working Americans like Levi “F-in’ Redneck” Johnston.

It caught our attention, then, when First Lady Laura Bush and would-be First Lady Cindy McCain took the stage Tuesday night wearing some rather fancy designer clothes. So we asked our fashion department to price out their outfits.

“I was completely underwhelmed. She was a Republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for a someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.”

-- George Lentz, 66, Southfield independent

“Who is Sarah Palin? I'm sorry but I still don't know anymore about this young lady tonight than I did last night ... The way it looks to me, she's the Republican vice presidential nominee for one reason: because Hillary wasn't selected.”

-- Mike Kosh, 38, West Bloomfield independent

"Sarah Palin is a self-described ‘pitbull with lipstick.’ She spent little time helping Americans learn who she is. She is a cool, poised speaker, but her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”

-- Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley independent

“Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarksand distortions to be a major turn off. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”

-- Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak independent

“Sarah got as much applause as Hillary did, and had a friendly, appealing appearance.Her delivery style reminded me of a high school valedictorian who also might have been a cheerleader. I thought she would appear more professional, more stateswomanly. She's no match for Joe Biden.”

In Palin's speech she spoke nothing about what the McCain administration will do about the economy, period. Why? Polling has proven the the Republicans lose on the issues. The only to attempt to win is to play the "personality politics" or "identity politics".

The identity game is making the election all about Barack Obama and not of the issues, hoping the voters will get caught up and ignore their pain.

Can it work? Sure, it can, but the Obama Campaign must now come out forceful, with haste and a plan to make sure this election is about you, the voter.

Last night was a nice looking woman, acting like a pit bull with lipstick on but saying nothing.

Last night was the GOP, with the old white men, no diversity cheering her on.

I wrote earlier that this speech was for the base, to get the base back in the fold, that was her mission and she did it.

Expect the poll numbers to tighten, since most leaners of Dems and Repubs have gone back home. Now is the fight for the middle. Palin won't help there, much, but will continue to be the attack dog "unleashed".

Now it is the Democratic Women's turn. It is about taking Palin down and exposing her for what she is. Which is nothing more but a LIAR.

So this is "Pit bull Palin." Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin --in the GOP convention's most anticipated appearance -- asked the delegates Wednesday night who got their first look at John McCain's surprise pick as a running mate if they knew "the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull."

"Lipstick," said Palin.

"Pitbull Palin" was talking about herself as she made history by becoming the second female in U.S. history to be part of a major party presidential ticket.

Palin did not flinch as she sliced, diced and mocked Barack Obama in her debut speech on a major stage. "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities," she said to a roar. continue

Will this work? After the disastrous eight years of George W. Bush, will it?

I don't know, but tend to think in the end, it won't.

Sarah Palin is a divisive, sock puppet, lightning rod. She said what she had to last night to energize the GOP base. She did that. I knew that she would, wrote about it on my blog.

Sarah Palin also laid out what the GOP will run on starting Friday, the politics of personality. This is what came out of McCain's Campaign Manager's Davis' mouth.

Why go down this road? Well, the Republicans won't win on the issues. It has been polled and they won't. McCain knows this. So, enter vitriolic Palin, who makes divisive comments to take the American public's mind off their problems and attempt to make it personality politics. This is the last card standing folks.

The problem with this is that it is not 2000 or 2004 and people out in this country are LEGITIMATELY hurting. They are losing the American Dream. They are being thrown out of their homes. Financial institutions are on shaky ground. Children are unable to afford college. People are losing their jobs at rapid speed. More on unemployment rolls that ever. Wages are being cut everywhere. Gas prices soaring. Food prices are soaring. Prescription medication is becoming unaffordable.

That laundry list above is growing, not shrinking. So, if you were the GOP what would you do? Make this a personality debate.

A couple of other thoughts before I wrap up.

The McCain Campaign want to make this Obama vs. Palin. Sorry, Barack Obama does not need to answer Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin has not won anything. She never campaigned in the lower 48 for any primary. She was appointed on a ticket with McCain, nothing more or less. Barack Obama is the Presidential Nominee for the Democratic Party. He is not running for Vice President. Any response to Palin needs to come from the Obama Campaign, not the candidate. This is what the McCain Campaign wants, a gutter fight of Obama vs. Palin.

Not happening. There will be plenty to dethrone Queen Palin and put her back in her place, but it won't be from Barack Obama.

Lastly, it is now time to call Sarah Palin a ball faced liar. It is time for the Obama Campaign to outline, lie after lie, and call the McCain Campaign on it. You can not continue to have lyin' Palin talk about a bridge to nowhere when she was behind it.

See putting a lipstick on a pit bull worked four years ago when the country was not tuned into what really happened with the Iraq War. It worked when many were not going through the hardships they are now. This is 2008, different time, and folks want answers.

It is our job to make sure that folks know the facts, not the myths, but the facts of the continuation of the Bush/McCain administration to avoid this ticket being elected.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I did not watch the Sarah Palin show, will catch that show later on video, but my husband did.

He came away with many impressions, but one made a lasting impression with him.

The visual of Palin's pregnant teenage daughter and her terrified boyfriend.

My husband said, "Is this the role model of the president and vice president families? Is this the norm? Is this the role model that our young kids should see and that it is just cool and ok. Because if this is what the presidency and vice presidency has been dumbed down to, we really need to do everything to make sure Obama and Biden win."

I am liberal, to the core. My husband is a staunch conservative on family values. That picture disturbed him.

Then was the question, "What if it was one of the Obama girls? Would it just be ok and they too, a role model?"

Funny, this is what he walked away from after watching Palin.

Democrats, we need to win this one and win it badly.

As my husband walked away, I did not process his words at first, because really so what and who cares about a pregnant teenager? But he did.

My husband cares about this country and along with it are the people we elect to represent us, they are our faces and our images.

Along with electing them, we elect their ideals, their values, their beliefs. This is all part of what a president and vice president are.

Finally, this is not a knock on Bristol Palin, but just a knock on how that campaign has used her as a wedge issue and had her sitting up there for everyone to see.

"Just like you, there has never been a day when I was not proud to be an American. We inherited the greatest nation in the history of the earth. It is our burden and privilege to preserve it, to renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future. To this we are all dedicated and I firmly believe by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed. President McCain and Vice President Palin will keep America as it has always been - the hope of the world."

One thing is painfully obvious about the Republican Party. This is a party of NOTHING. When I state nothing, I mean absolutely nothing. So far, this party has not given a platform of what they are going to do. Nothing about the economy, energy, college tuition, food prices, China, jobs, wages, pensions, military families, Iraq, Afghanistan, the trillions of dollars of debt this country is in. NOTHING.

The GOP has presented zero, nada, zilch to the public of why McCain should be the next president. Folks are hurting. Worried about retirement. Prices are sky high. Parents wondering if their kids can go to college. Jobs staying or leaving. No they have addressed nothing.

This party want to make this a "personality contest". Well, this country has gotten all the personality it needs from George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Barack breaks it down right here:

Two of John McCain's best pals in the U.S. Senate gave the Republican National Convention some of the red meat they'd been waiting for Tuesday after a delayed start to speeches with high praise for McCain and tough words for his opponent.

"I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party," said Joe Lieberman, the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee who was re-elected as an independent in Connecticut in 2006. He said Barack Obama has not reached across the aisle in a bipartisan effort since he has been in the Senate.

Lieberman, like McCain a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, also said: "When others wanted to retreat in defeat from the field of battle, when Barack Obama was voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground, John McCain had the courage to stand against the tide of public opinion and support the surge, and because of that, today our troops are at last beginning to come home, not in failure but in honor." continue

Robert Gibbs, Communication Director, Obama Campaign

::

An examination of Obama's bounce

Last week in this space, I argued that we are better off looking beyond "the bounce" as measured in polls to more specific measures of what voters learn from the conventions and whether their views of the candidates have changed. Today I want to try to follow that advice.

Yes, in six different national surveys released early this week*, support for Barack Obama has increased, so the Democrat has experienced a modest bounce. While the magnitude of the change differs, all six polls have Obama gaining, with most of the shift coming from the undecided category.

However, convention bumps can be fleeting, and as noted last week, the unique timing of this year's conventions makes historical comparisons problematic. So rather than obsess on the metaphysical meaning of the bump, let's look beyond the horse race to the "internals" -- questions within the latest surveys that show how voter perceptions of the candidates changed over the last week. continue

::

The Truth About the Republicans, Thanks to an OPEN MIC

TRANSCRIPT

Noonan: [Can't hear since Todd (who is still on air) is talking over her]

Murphy: Um, you know, because, I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, I mean, and these guys, this is all how you win a Texas race, just run it up, and it's not gonna work.

Noonan: It's Over.

Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech and do himself some good.

Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they can turn to?

Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and youthfulness and the picture...

Todd: Yeah, but the narrative?

Murphy: I totally agree.

Noonan: Every time Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

Murphy: You know what's the worst thing about it, the greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and..

Murphy and Todd together: This is cynical.

Todd: And as you called it, gimmicky.

::

National Enquirer is on the case......

The McCain Campaign is threatening a lawsuit, against the NE for publishing an alleged affair that Sarah Palin supposedly had with her husband's former business partner.

Again "alleged", this is the NE who broke the John Edwards affair, remember?

John McCain’s campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband’s business partner.

“The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie,” said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt.

"The National Enquirer's coverage of a vicious war within SarahPalin's extended family includes several newsworthy revelations,including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details offamily strife when the Governor's daughter revealed her pregnancy.Following our John Edwards' exclusives, our political reporting hasobviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign'svetting process. Despite the McCain camp's attempts to control presscoverage they find unfavorable, The Enquirer will continue to pursuenews on both sides of the political spectrum."

Oh, snap!! McCain Campaign you just MAGNIFIED THIS, with a threat of a law suit. Talk about a campaign circus!!!

Noonan: [Can't hear since Todd (who is still on air) is talking over her]

Murphy: Um, you know, because, I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, I mean, and these guys, this is all how you win a Texas race, just run it up, and it's not gonna work.

Noonan: It's Over.

Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech and do himself some good.

Let's be honest here, her speech will encompass her love and passion for her family. She will state she is not perfect, that well "shit" happens, in regards to her daughter. She will go after the liberal blogs, like Daily Kos and the liberal media, like the New York Times. She will reinforce McCain's position. She will present herself as a woman who is charge and ready to lead on DAY ONE.

It will be eaten up, because most of America doesn’t know anything about her. The cocoon of the Xcel Center in St. Paul will be warm and fuzzy.

For them, with Palin, no bar is necessary.

::

That is nice and good for the conservatives, but the rest of America is another question.

Just do a poll, simple in your office, at your kids’ basketball games or soccer games, at the beauty and barber shops, and you will find a different take on this.

As kos, pointed out about Obama's gain in the polls, some of it is post-convention but a lot is the uncertainty of the Palin pick. To back this up, view the new McCain ad below, comparing Palin to Obama.

Pathetic.

I remember watching this Friday and discussing this with my husband when he came home, distinctly stating, "She deserved a better rollout than this." All this stuff coming out now and in daily dose cannot be a welcome mat for John McCain. In fact, the campaign now is controlling and giving no access to Palin, in doing so they are just feeding the media frenzy, themselves.

I don't blame Palin for this. The blame falls on the McCain Campaign for improper vetting, or lack of it. While the McCain Campaign can rant about unfair treatment of Palin, the issue is why would this campaign put their VP nominee on the barbecue grill to burn? This is what they have done, unfortunately.

The coverage about Palin has been uncovered by the blogosphere and the MSM. Why? The McCain Campaign gave no information, forthcoming about Palin. Their biggest bumble and the very FIRST public information about her family is her 17 year old daughter, pregnant and unwed. This is no big deal, it truly is not. This happens everyday in America, mostly due to lack of sex education and birth control information. With all the drama going on about the Palin Family, why would McCain think or believe he could fool the public and media with no vetting of this candidate? Mind boggling.

I do believe the National Enquirer when it said it informed Palin that they were going ahead with the pregnancy story, found Palin's teen's boyfriend, etc. Again, it took the NE for a politician to come clean. Déjà vu, for sure.

After all of this, it has been a steamroller that just won't stop on Palin. Is it just or fair? Not regarding her daughter, which most have not dumped on, but everything else, yes. Remember, Barack Obama had to go through this and it was not pretty. Remember, Hillary Clinton has gone through this since 1992; a lot of it was not pretty. Palin and McCain should have expected the same.

In the end, this is about the judgment of John McCain. This is about how reckless a Commander-in-Chief McCain will be. This is about how easily led and swayed McCain is. This is about John McCain, period.

As for Palin? A friend reminded me that she is the female version of George W. Bush:

Failed business = checkReligious conservative = checkUsing her authority to abuse the law = checkGovernor of an oil state (and friend to big oil) = check

When Barack Obama entered the senate, Joe Lieberman was his mentor. That is how the senate is structured for new members, unfamiliar with the chamber and its processes.

This is what he has to say about Obama in 2006, then:

This is Lieberman a loser as VP Pick in 2000; not a factor for president in the primaries of 2004; losing the democratic primary in 2006; turning bitter and sour towards his own party who supported the democratic nominee in 2006, Ned Lamont; ran in 2006 for his senate seat as an Independent; and watching Liberman perform political suicide in 2008. This is Joe Lieberman, Senator of Connecticut. If Barack Obama wins, he is toast. Stripped, will he be of his chairmanships of the senate and thrown to the curb to a nothingness. Will he win again in Connecticut as an Independent Democrat in 2012? NO. Lieberman has been giving money to Democratic PACs while endorsing John McCain at the Republican Convention, last night, it is called covering your BASES. WTF, indeed.

::

George W. Bush, a presidency that will go down as the worst in history

Damn, you know that you are not welcomed to your own party's convention when you have to deliver a TAPED speech from the White House.

That is what happened to GWB, last night.

McCain wanted him NO WHERE near the convention. Remember, he is trying to get his reformer/maverick "mojo" back by picking compromising Sarah for his VP.

So, having Mr. 28% or even Mr. 19% (psst, that is Dick Cheney) at the convention, LIVE, for all Americans to see is or was a "no-can-do". So, Mr. 28% was relegated to a taped speech thousands of miles away and Mr. 19% was told "don't bother to show up."

Yep. These are the Republican Party's leaders. The worst destroyers of this country we, Americans have ever had the privileged to watch.

::

Sarah Palin, will be a hit tonight

She will be. She will come out fierce; point fingers at the liberal blogs for rumor mongering (see below); embrace her roseanne-like family which is playing out on the national stage; back off of some of her lies, but not all; look great; embrace "family values"; push the McCain-Bush doctrine; etc.

The GOP, sensing a loss, is going to try to reignite the culture wars. They are starting with the old bromide about "the liberal media", with Mark Halperin as proof. Go after the NY Times and the Daily Kos. Pick on Elizabeth Bumiller and Dan Balz. And it's already started. This is standard GOP playbook. The problem is the tabloids in the supermarket are not on their side.

All the above is for the base. The conservative base. Remember that is her job, to energize THEM, not me. So, the more they give a "shoutout" to Daily Kos, the more hits and advertising the site gets.

So, remember ALL that, just sayin'.

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Obama support hits 50 per cent as Republicans look to Palin speech

Barack Obama has hit the crucial 50 per cent mark in the polls for the first time after an impressive Democratic convention and concerns over John McCain’s choice of the Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

The Democratic nominee now holds an eight-point lead over Mr McCain – 50 per cent to 42 per cent – according to today’s daily tracking poll released by Gallup.

Mr Obama has bounced back from a poll low earlier this month when the two presidential candidates were tied on 44 per cent. Undecided voters have dropped from 11 per cent to 8 per cent, suggesting that those who have recently made up their minds are opting for Mr Obama.

Today, the McCain camp was pinning its hopes on a successful convention to peg back its rival.

Mrs Palin is due to address delegates tonight and Mr McCain’s top advisers have been busy prepping her for a speech that they hope will dispel doubts over her experience, grasp of national issues and the various personal and political controversies that have been swirling around her since the selection was announced on Friday. continue

Barack Obama's presidential campaign can hardly believe its luck this week. Coming off a well-received convention where 40 million TV viewers saw Obama's acceptance speech, the Democratic nominee made three nightly appearances in battleground states that each drew 14,000 or more people.

Meanwhile, the start of the Republican convention was blown off course by Hurricane Gustav and questions surrounding vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

All of which helps explain why Americans outside a few heartland industrial states may hardly be aware that Obama is campaigning this week. The campaign is so satisfied, aides say, that he's making no effort to shake things up or to make national news. There are no new proposals or new lines of attack on Republican John McCain.

Obama spent all of Tuesday out of public sight after cutting short his Labor Day speeches in deference to Gustav's victims. After all, there's an old saying in politics: If your opponent is self-destructing, don't get in his way.

McCain has hardly self-destructed, of course, and he may rebound quickly with some good events at the convention in St. Paul. For the moment, however, Democrats could hardly have hoped for a better one-week run. continue

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Winning it Locally

I have been thinking about all this drama that have taken off since McCain's VP pick on Friday. We all know what is going on and if you don't know, just read here.

Through all of this, you need to keep the perspective of what is really going on. McCain has to justify his pick due to lack of vetting. As things come out daily, this is just more adjustments that the McCain Campaign needs to deal with, but we need to remember how this race is won.

For Obama, it started in Iowa. Then it was New Hampshire. We went to Nevada, then South Carolina. Super Tuesday came and went with a draw, then 12 state wins in a row. Meaning the general election is won state by state, just like the primaries, only everyone votes on the same day, November 4th.

While the Republican Convention is going on, Obama and Biden are being greeted by record crowds in the all important swing states. So remember, even though we hear the national noise, politics in the end is always LOCAL and this means getting your message across to the local press, something that Obama has been brilliant doing since pre-primary days.

Tucker Bounds was interviewed, yesterday by CNN's Campbell Brown. Brown repeatedly tried to get Bounds to give one decision that Palin made in regards to foreign policy since Bounds was bragging about her "supposedly" credentials. Well, you decide from the video below. My take, Bounds got an "F" for trying.

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And as I listen to the cable desks clerks chirp away in St. Paul, Minnesota, Andrea Mitchell of NBC/MSNBC said, "A Republican Party that doesn't want the President at the Party".

Ummmmm. Team Obama, that sounds like an "AD LINE" to me. Just sayin.........

Why I bring this up is quite simple, John McCain is 72 years old and has had 2-4 bouts of cancer, will become the OLDEST president that this country has ever elected.

Can you imagine Sarah Palin in the role of LBJ? Vision the above, take away what happened in this picture and put Palin in this role.

This is why, for me, she is a disastrous pick.

You know things are not going your way when you put your wife on ABCs "This Week" to justify Palin's foreign policy experience by stating Alaska is close to Russia? You know your campaign has issues.

Why, again? Sarah Palin has never traveled anywhere. She got her passport, as governor, when she visited troops in Germany and Kuwait. This does not justify having a candidate with a global view. Can you imagine her negotiating anything with Putin, al-Maliki, etc., staring down her throat? I don't see it. And this premise by Charlie Black, McCain Aide that she will learn foreign policy as she goes along is the very point why she should not be the Vice Presidential candidate. When you have an old presidential nominee, you need assurance to the American public that voting for him means, if something happens to the president, that vice president will step in with NO ISSUES.

This is what the John McCain pick has resulted in. John McCain's lack of judgment. We know Palin has other issues politically on her policies and views, but in the end it is John McCain's judgment that will take the brunt, not Palin's.

McCain's lack of judgment to thoroughly vet Palin, make a wise choice, pick a strong choice, but more importantly to choose a person who will be ready to be President of the United States, DAY ONE, if something happens to McCain is the issue here. This is what Americans will chew on, especially as more information of Palin comes out.

McCain has brought his age back to the fold and it is exposed on the table. Americans now are processing this pick and in the end I think America will view this as I do.

John McCain is 72 years old. John McCain has/had health problems. John McCain picked a novice. John McCain's VP pick has no foreign policy experience. John McCain's VP pick has traveled very little to the lower 48 and virtually has not traveled internationally at all. John McCain's pick has been a governor for less than two years and was a part-time mayor prior of a town with less than 7000 residents. What if something happens to John McCain? Will this VP pick be ready on DAY ONE to assume the responsibility of the presidency?

Well, let's look at the basics. McCain does not have boots on the ground. He does not have offices open across the country and many have been open for Obama pre/post primaries. McCain does not have that.

John McCain was never the conservative pick. He was not. They never liked him nor trusted him. He is a media darling, but not to this group.

The conservative base is what got George W. Bush elected in 2004, period. This is the far right of the Republican Party that has boots to put on the ground and know how to perform GOTV. John Kerry lost this race on the ground.

The far right demanded that McCain pick a person of "their liking" not the other way around. As have been reported, and you can read it from the links in, This Week With Barack Obama, Joe Lieberman was McCain's choice, followed by former Governor Ridge of Pennsylvania. The problem, both are pro choice. The far right was not going to stand for it and threatened havoc at the Republican Party.

Thus, Sarah Palin.

Forget her personal family issues, that is not important. She brings other baggage troopergate, former member of AIP in Alaska, lied about the "bridge to nowhere" which she supported, former director of indicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' 527 group, said she did not take/was against earmarks but got 40M for her tiny town of 8000 in Wasilla. This is not a reformer nor change. This is a riddled candidate with issues back home.

I say, if Palin withdraws it will be for troopergate. CNN reported there are now emails, more documents and phone calls coming forward implicating the governor in this investigation. She finally had to lawyer up. Not good.

One thing you don't want on your ticket is a candidate that is problematic with ethic problems, along with everything else. Not good.

I viewed the media, yes questioning Palin and the pregnancy of her 17 year old daughter, but really going after the McCain Campaign and their lack of vetting. Especially, since they just sent a dozen aides to Alaska on Sunday. Perplexing, yes, indeed.

No one wants to talk about teen pregnancy. It is a major problem in this country. But it was the Palins who decided to put their daughter out there like that and it is unfortunate.

I agree, the families should be off limits, but when you run for the President and Vice President of the United States of America, VETTING FROM THE MEDIA WILL BE DONE. Period.

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barack in milwaukee, wisconsin

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Obama speaks at end of Detroit Labor Day parade

Buffeted by years of jobs loss overseas and a domestic auto industry struggling simply to stay afloat, local and national union leaders are looking to Barack Obama as their life preserver.

Thousands of Obama's supporters, many from organized labor, jammed into Hart Plaza along the downtown Detroit riverfront to hear the Democratic presidential candidate assure them of their place of importance in his White House.

"I'm a labor guy. I believe in the labor movement. I believe in American workers," Obama said. "I think it's important to have a president that doesn't choke on the word 'union.'"

Then he began to speak about a different type of solidarity and urged his listeners to support relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Gustav.

"Today is a day for all of us to come together as Americans and send our thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters who are concerned about their loved ones and their homes," Obama said. continue

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Obama does have executive experience

How? What has he been running for almost two years? A ground breaking, disciplined organization that never was riddled with money problems, people problems and management problems.

Barack Obama told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday's edition of "360" that he has more executive experience than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He compares his national campaign organization to Palin's stint as a mayor of a small town and ignores that she is a governor.

On CNN's "360" Obama "also countered critics who suggest that he has less executive experience in this situation compared to Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin saying, "...my understanding is, is that Governor Sarah Palin's town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We have got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So, I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute, I think, has been made clear over the last couple of years. continue

First off, this was one of the best staged conventions that I watched on television in years. Usually, these conventions are boring, but not this year. In fact the ratings were off the chain from Monday to Thursday. It averaged 30 million viewers a night. These numbers are huge for a political event and proves that the public is getting engaged.

From the surprise speech of Ted Kennedy; to the passionate plea of Michelle Obama; to the "set the record straight" speech of Hillary Clinton; to the "Yes he can, but first you got to vote for him" speech of Bill Clinton; to the introduction of Joe Biden; and to the final climax of the best convention speech given in modern day history by Barack Obama, it was a smash.

Some other speeches I fondly remember is Governor Schweitzer of Montana, this was the one speech my husband said, "should have been the keynote address." John Kerry's peeling the onion of John McCain and George W. Bush made me wish he was like that in 2004. Senator Bob Casey stating we don't need four more years, we can't take four more months. The democrats followed the lead of Obama with the ending being a convention to be talked about for years to come.

Job well done, Democrats.

obama's acceptance speech to the democratic convention in denver, colorado

After the past three days and all that drama? Compare our team to their team.

God Bless, Joe Biden.

Nuff said.

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Weekly Slideshow..................

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well, barack is our official nominee and he has joe by his side. after all this weekend drama, i told my mother, "i am glad joe biden is barack's vp." can you just imagine after all this crap, otherwise? at any rate, we have a lot of work to do. continue to donate to the campaign, and you can tip my obama jar for that. continue to volunteer, phone bank, all information below. the general election has commenced, as always keep your powder dry and remember to focus on obama and not the drama.....................

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